Judge Denies Motion for New Gawker-Hulk Hogan Trial

Hogan sued Gawker after it posted a 2007 video of him having sex with Heather Clem

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In this file photo, Terry Bollea, known as professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, listens while testifying in his case against the news website Gawker at the Pinellas County Courthouse, in St. Petersburg, Fla., Monday, March 7, 2016. A Florida judge on Wednesday denied Gawker's motion for a new trial.

A Florida judge on Wednesday denied Gawker's motion for a new trial in the Hulk Hogan sex-video case and won't reduce a $140 million jury verdict.

Judge Pamela Campbell's ruling is the latest development in a yearslong legal fight between Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, and the gossip website.

Hogan sued Gawker after it posted a 2007 video of him having sex with Heather Clem, wife of his then-best friend Bubba The Love Sponge Clem, a local Tampa DJ who made the video. During the Gawker trial, Hogan mournfully described how Clem betrayed his trust.

The three-week trial was a lurid inside look at the business of celebrity gossip and a debate over newsworthiness versus celebrity privacy.

Gawker denies that it leaked the transcript to the National Enquirer. In the transcript, Hogan, who is white, makes several racist statements about his daughter's ex-boyfriend, who is black. Once the Enquirer published the story, WWE severed its longtime ties with the famous wrestler.

The suit in Pinellas County Court also accuses a talent agent, two disc jockeys, a radio company and a lawyer of conspiring to send news media outlets the sex tape and causing Hogan emotional distress and economic harm.

The New York Times and Forbes, citing unnamed sources, allege that billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel has been secretly funding Hogan's lawsuit against Gawker Media.

Forbes says Thiel, who co-founded PayPal and sits on the Facebook board of directors, has been footing the former wrestler's legal bills "against a shared enemy." The Forbes article , and a similar one in the Times, cited unnamed people familiar with the situation.